By Alexandra Land | Executive Assistance
The following story explores the sucess of the Blossom Bus through Nisha, a girl student in persuit of her education. The Blossom Bus program provides girl-only transportation that is safe and accessible to the young girls of rural towns in Mewat India where the female literacy rate is as low as 6%. The scarcity of schools and the conservative pressures of the community creates many barriers between girls and their education.
Nisha is one of the many girls from the village Jalalpur who has reached 10th grade this year. She has been traveling on the Blossom Bus for last three years. She is the eldest daughter of a Maulvi in a Mosque and has six younger sisters. Her sister Aisha also travels on the Blossom Bus and is enrolled in the 6th grade this year. Nisha expressed, “It was very difficult to convince my parents to attend a school eight kilometers away from the village though I was very much interested in continuing my studies." Nisha had to work very hard to persuade her father about the benefits of education before she could ride the Blossom Bus.
After raising seven daughters, Nisha’s father was reluctant to send her to school because he was afraid about her safety and security. With only girls, Nisha’s father experienced some difficulties and was reluctant to let her go. Three years ago, before Nisha took the Blossom Bus, Nisha’s friends worked to convince him of the safety and reliance of the Blossom Bus. They told her father that the school was an all girls’ school and that a local father of a student rode the bus with them as a chaperone. The friends explained that the Blossom Bus is well trusted by parents and has been supplying the service for a long time. With the help of her friends, Nisha's father finally agreed to let her take the Blossom Bus to school. Since then, Nisha and her sister have been taking the Blossom Bus to school everyday. Nisha's father is now happy knowing that his daughters are receiving a good education, and he now knows that it will benefit them in their future.
Head Master Mr. Balbir Singh and Nisha’s class teachers Mrs. Rawat expressed that Nisha is a good student and performs well in class. They are happy with the transportation and thanked Lotus Outreach and all of the donors for this great program that is provided to the students of the poor families of Mewat. The Blossom Bus has transformed many lives and has shown promise for the girls who have graduated. Many of the girls that have graduated have continued on to college, which is a dream come true for the girls of Mewat. Mr. Balbir Singh explained that he was very proud of the 45 out of the 54 girls in 10th grade that have passed the exams this year in contrast to the 40% average in the state.
Because of the supporters of the Blossom Bus, the number of girls using this program continues to grow. This year Lotus Outreach has 250 girls traveling to school on the Blossom Bus. The program is constantly enrolling new students who will replace the students who have graduated.
We would like to thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you!
What do think about the Blossom Bus?
By Glenn Fawcett | Director of Field Operations
By Thomas Waltcher | Interim Director
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